


PDA -- Public Displays of Aggression

by JillMarie



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angsty Schmoop, M/M, Supernatural Reverse Big Bang Challenge 2014, Teen Angst, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-08 22:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1138453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JillMarie/pseuds/JillMarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared hates Jensen; he hates everything about the guy, especially how he has everyone fooled. Jensen adores Jared but can't win him over no matter what he does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	PDA -- Public Displays of Aggression

**Author's Note:**

> This is a multi media production. Clicking on the embedded links will take you to my tumblr, and livejournal.

 

“What's the matter, Jared?” Jensen grinned mischievously. “Don't you want to unwrap your present?” There was a definite tease to his words and Jared's mouth went dry. “Come on, Jared, you know you're gonna like it.” While biting his lip, Jensen let his shirt slip from his shoulders to puddle at his waist.

Jared whined and reached for Jensen's waist band. “Do you want me to take these off, too?” Jensen whispered.

“Yes,” Jared panted. Best Christmas ever. Finally getting Jensen naked was going to make everything from the past few months worth while. Jared's eyes slowly drank in every inch of Jensen, from his silky blond hair to the curve of his lips, down his chest and his abs, and then to where his hands were tugging his pants down.

“Yeah?” he sighed.

“Jared?”

He whimpered unexpectedly.

“Mr. Padalecki!”

Jared bolted upright in his desk, his knees slamming into its legs and causing the whole thing to skid noisily.

“Back with us?” Mr. Singer asked, glaring at him in annoyance while most of his classmates snickered.

Jared, bright red with embarrassment, wiped at his mouth self-consciously. “Yes, yeah, sorry.”

“Dude,” Chad whispered, “you were making some seriously happy noises.”

“Shut up, Chad,” Jared hissed under his breath. He cautiously looked around the room. Most of his classmates had gone back to listening to Mr. Singer. Most, but not Jensen. Jensen was looking at him with a hint of concern on his face. The moment he realized Jared was returning his gaze, he turned away.

Jared scowled. Of course he'd have an erotic dream in a class he shared with Jensen. He couldn't be more embarrassed.

Mr. Singer thought otherwise. “Well, Mr. Padalecki? Are you ready to explain why Archduke Ferdinand's assassination led to World War I?”

Jared swallowed his groan. “Yes, Mr. Singer.” He paged through his notebook until he heard the teacher clear his throat. He looked up and saw the teacher pointing to the podium. _Oh god, not in front of the class_. Jared prayed that no one would notice he was sporting a semi hard-on as a result of his dream.

He told himself not to look at Jensen, but since he sat in the first row, it was difficult to miss him staring up at Jared, and sucking on his pen.

 

Jared and Jensen never ran with the same crowd, but their school wasn't that big and everybody pretty much knew each other. Jensen was a bit more of a jock. As a junior, he was already the starting running back of the varsity football team. Jared tended to favor more academic pursuits like mathletes, debate team, and forensics. However, this didn't mean that Jensen was stupid or that Jared wasn't athletic. Jensen, like Jared, was in the top ten of their class and Jared had made the varsity basketball team.

 

Jensen had taken an immediate liking to Jared. The guy was funny as well as interesting and intelligent, a rarity in Jensen's experience. Jared, on the other hand, was suspicious of Jensen's motives nearly from the moment they met. Sure, the guy was attractive and seemed to be able to charm everyone, but Jared was sure Jensen was manipulating people.

 

* * *

 

**Two years earlier**

The first time Jared saw Jensen was in their freshman science class. They had been taking notes; Jensen was sucking on his pen and dragging it against his lower lip. Never had Jared wanted to be a cheap plastic pen so badly. He wondered distractedly if Jensen knew how obscene he looked. The teacher could be explaining the meaning of life for all Jared cared; he had to meet the boy with pretty eyes and the oral fixation.

After class, Jared followed him down the hall, hoping to see that they shared another class, only to be disappointed when he saw Jensen shove a smaller boy into a locker door making the row of lockers rattle. It didn't matter that the boy appeared to be grinning, bullying like that always bothered Jared.

They had two classes together freshman year, art and science, both of which became Jared's worst classes. He blamed his lower-than-expected grades on the distraction named Jensen.

 

 **Sophomore year** they were thrown together even more as they had some classes as well as lunch and study hall together. Jensen always smiled and said 'hello' to him and Jared would usually say it back, but sometimes he'd just nod, not wanting anyone to think they were friends.

In the fall of their sophomore year, Jensen told him he should try to get a place on Homecoming Court as the representative for their class. Jensen told all his friends to vote for Jared, much to Jared's annoyance. The day before the actual voting Jared cornered Jensen. “What do you think you're doing?” he demanded. “Why are you trying to get me on Homecoming Court? I'm not even on the football team.”

Jensen looked surprised by Jared's questions. “Because you're a cool guy. And why does it have to be a football player all the time? Homecoming is supposed to be for everyone, yet this school always tries to force everyone to choose football players.” Jared still looked unsure, so Jensen continued to try to persuade him. “Jared, everyone likes you. I thought it would be easy to convince people to vote for you.”

Jared crossed his arms and shook his head. “What made you think I would want anything to do with Homecoming?”

Jensen looked slightly crushed. “Sorry. I guess I didn't think that you wouldn't want to do it. Don't worry, I can tell the guys not to vote for you. I wasn't trying to make you mad.”

He actually looked disappointed, but Jared was immovable. He wasn't going to be the butt of an elaborate joke.

 

Despite Jensen's promise, Jared found his name on the ballot the next day. By lunch he learned that even though Jensen had told his friends not to vote for him, enough other students did and he was elected to court.

“Jared!” Jensen caught up with him after school. “Look man, I know you didn't want this, but I guess I was right because even with my friends not voting for you, you made it.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Jared snapped sarcastically. “Just what I always wanted.”

Jensen smiled weakly. “On the bright side, you were chosen by the majority of our class and that means you'll be able to get any girl you want to be your date.”

Jared groaned. “That doesn't make this any more appealing. I'm not mister school dance and shit.”

“Oh,” Jensen thought a moment. “Well, a bunch of us are going stag. You're standing up with Katie, but that doesn't mean she is your date. You can hang out with us if you like.”

Jared studied him, hoping to discover what the joke was, but Jensen's wide eyed expression made him look sincere. “I don't know.”

Jensen sighed. “Maybe you could talk to Mr. Carpenter. He can get you out of it. I mean, all you should have to do is say you don't want to do it. It's not like they can force you,” Jensen suggested, hoping Jared understood how truly sorry he felt.

Jared shoved past him. “But it was okay for **you** to force me.”

Jensen followed him. “I didn't _say_ that. And how many times do I have to apologize? I was _trying_ to do something nice.”

“Who asked you to?”

Jensen shrunk from the anger in Jared's eyes. “No one. I…,” he paused, unsure how to continue. “I like you. You're a really nice guy, when you're not giving me this death stare. I just thought…” He stopped again and sighed in defeat. “Never mind. I'm sorry all right? What do you want me to do?”

 _Eat shit and die, long walk short pier, rot in hell_... Jared's list scrolled through his mind, but he settled on, “Leave me alone and don't try to do 'something nice' for me ever again.” He left Jensen behind at the doors to the school.

 

The Homecoming dance wasn't as horrible as Jared thought it would be. He took his friend Genevieve as his date and they doubled with Chad and Sophia. When court was announced, and he and Katie took their places on the stage, Jared saw Jensen and his friends cheering for him.

During the court's dance, Jensen approached Genevieve. “Hi, Gen, you look really nice.”

She blushed, “Thanks, Jensen, so do you. Who did you bring?”

“No one. Well unless you count Tyler, but a bunch of us went stag, you know because of how this school is so unwilling to accept change.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you remember last year? Tyler's brother was elected to prom court, but the administration wouldn’t let him stand up because he's gay. A bunch of us didn't think that was fair, so we're trying to change things. Our counselor, Mr. Ladouceur, said we should start small and gradually make changes.” Jensen shrugged. “I don't think it's going to make an impression on anyone.”

Gen smiled at him. “At least you did something, right? I mean Jared's not in football and neither is the junior rep.”

“I guess.” He shrugged again. “Hey, you wanna dance while Jared's busy?”

Genevieve answered with a bright smile. “Sure, I'd like that.”

As they danced, Jared glared at them from across the gym. He was so disturbed by seeing Gen and Jensen dance, that his escort, Katie, asked him what was wrong. “Nothing really,” he grumbled. “It's just Ackles is dancing with my date.”

“Well, you're dancing with me,” she needlessly pointed out.

Jared nearly snapped out, _“Because I have to”_ but thought better of it and said, “I know, but I don't like him with my date.”

Katie squeezed his hand reassuringly. “He didn't even bring a date and you kinda have two, so don't worry about him.”

 

As soon as he was free, he rushed back to Genevieve and demanded, “Why were you dancing with Ackles?”

“We were talking and then he asked if I wanted to dance since you were busy.  What's the big deal?  It was only one dance, Jared.”

“Yeah, I know, but --”

“And you and I just here as friends, so I should be able to dance with anyone I want to.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“He was just being nice.”

“Okay,” he whined. “I got it. Geez.” Couldn't she see that she was the only girl Jensen had asked to dance? Couldn't she see that it was because she was Jared's date and Jensen was trying to ruin their night?

 

Later, Jared and Chad were waiting for their dates to leave the restroom, when Jensen and Tyler joined them. “Hey, a bunch of us are going to Dairy Queen after this. You wanna come with us?” Jensen asked.

“Can't. Sophia's parents are really strict and she has to go home right after the dance,” Chad answered, looking disappointed.

“Sorry.” Jensen turned to Jared. “What about you and Gen?”

Jared squinted at him, wondering what the guy was trying to accomplish, when he heard Genevieve ask, “What about me and Jared?”

Jensen grinned at her. “A bunch of us are going to Dairy Queen later, we were wondering if you and Jared wanted to come along.”

“Sounds like fun,” she replied, “but we doubled with Chad and Sophia, so we can't.”

“Too bad, I guess we'll see you on Monday,” Tyler said and they walked away.

Chad laughed quietly. “I think those two are dating each other.”

“Really?” Sophia asked not bothering to mask her excitement at the gossip.

Chad hunched a shoulder. “I don't know. They're just always together, you know? And they did go to homecoming together,” he added with a knowing nod.

Gen rolled her eyes at Chad's assumption. “You're an idiot. A bunch of guys went stag, doesn't mean they're gay. It just means they support people that are.”

Jared rolled his eyes. There was no way Tyler or Jensen was gay or even supported gay rights. They were jocks and everyone knew jocks hated gay guys. And that was when it clicked. That was why Jensen had wanted him to be involved in Homecoming, he had found out Jared was gay and was trying to humiliate him.

 

When the dance was over, Jensen approached Jared one more time. “I talked to Tyler's brother. He said he could give you and Gen a ride if you want to join us.”

“So you can hit on my date some more?”

“What? No,” Jensen sputtered. “I was just --”

“Just 'trying to be nice'?” Jared glared. “Stop 'trying to be nice', Jensen and leave me alone.”

Jensen blinked at his admonishment and mumbled, “Okay.”

 

* * *

Jensen adhered to Jared's directive to be left alone until February, but it wasn't his fault the rule was broken. Their history teacher assigned them to a group project which would be the majority of their grade. Jensen was psyched because his group was Jared, Felicia Day, and Tom Welling; it meant he was practically assured a good grade. Jared was irate. Felicia was cool and Tom was alright for a jock, but Jensen? Jared was pretty sure Jensen never cracked a book. He wondered what he thought he could contribute. After getting the assignment, Felicia and Jared decided to meet in the library during study hall to get started. Jared hadn't thought to ask Jensen to join them even though he had the same free period.

Of course that didn't stop Jensen from going to the library during their study hall. He didn't see his group, so he dropped his stuff on the nearest table and headed for the 930 shelves to find some books they could use. When he turned the corner, he heard someone whispering about him.

“I don't get it. Why don't you want to work with Jensen?” Felicia asked when they arrived at the shelves.

Jared stared at her, wondering why anyone would _want_ to work with Jensen. “Well, for starters, I think he's a lazy dumb jock who thinks the rest of us are here to do his bidding and tell him how lucky we are to know him.”

“Wow.” Felicia blinked up at him. “Seriously? He's never been anything but really nice to me.”

Jared snorted.  “Yeah, he's a regular fucking prince charming. That doesn't mean he's actually nice. He just uses people.”

Felicia shook her head. “I don't know Jared, you might be surprised. Jensen's like… really smart.”

Jared rolled his eyes. He had seen Jensen exchanging homework with other people too many times to take that statement seriously.

 

The following Monday, Jensen nervously approached the group. In his hands were a flash drive and five typed pages. “Um, hey, I, uh, don't want to cause any problems, but I don't want to work in a group.”

Felicia and Tom both asked, “What? Why?” Jared only smirked.

Jensen could barely meet their eyes. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “My schedule is kind of full and I wouldn't really have time to meet with y'all, so, well, it's just better this way.” He pretended not to notice how Jared tapped Felicia like an 'I told you so'. “But, well, I didn't want to leave you hanging so I did this.” He handed the papers and the flash drive to Felicia. “It's five pages on how Rome's lack of a police force contributed to its fall. I cited my sources. It's all on there.”

“You did five pages this weekend?” Jared didn't bother to hide his skepticism.

Jensen leveled his gaze at him. “Yeah. Like I said I didn't want to leave you hanging. Since it's supposed to be twenty pages and there're four of us, I wrote five. Seemed fair.” He looked at Felicia. “The file is on the drive so you can change the formatting or whatever.” Jensen returned to his seat and began planning his solo project.

Tom paged through Jensen's work and smiled; at least this part would earn them an 'A'. He handed the papers to Jared, who took them figuring he'd find a Wikipedia entry retyped. Instead, he found a well written paper. He was convinced Jensen must’ve copied it from somewhere.

 

For the rest of the school year, Jared paid more attention to Jensen's academic achievements, hoping to catch him cheating. The fact that the guy seemed to be just as smart as Jared only irritated him more. Why was Jensen so easy going when Jared had to study every night to maintain his grades?

 

To make matters worse, one Monday the school was swirling in gossip about Jensen. There were dozens of different stories, ranging from him being arrested to getting in a fight, but the one main thread was that he was gay.

Jared wasn't sure what to believe. Not even Chad knew the truth. Jensen was in class, and he certainly had some bruises, but Jared wanted to know what really happened. “Jensen, what happened to your face?” he asked bluntly before the class bell rang.

“I stopped someone's fist with it. A couple times. Not as much fun as it sounds,” he quipped, waiting, testing to see if Jared would ask anything else.

“Yeah, kinda a stupid move on your part.”

“Maybe, but sometimes, if you believe in something, you gotta take the punches.”

Before Jared could ask anything else, Mike Rosenbaum walked in and interrupted them. “Hey, Rocky, looking good.”

Jensen grinned. “F- you, Mikey.”

“Yeah, you wish you could get some of this,” Mike replied, grabbing his butt for emphasis. “How's Tyler doing?”

“He's fine. His eye's messed up, but he'll be back in school tomorrow.”

“Cool,” Mike nodded. “Well, I got your back if anything happens before that, okay, my little rainbow riding unicorn lover?”

“What?!” Jensen asked, laughing at Mike's endearment. But, instead of saying anything else, Mike blew him a kiss and skipped to his seat, making Jensen laugh more. Jensen's smile faded when he turned to see Jared looking at him oddly.

The bell rang, class began, and that was the last chance Jared had to talk with Jensen.

 

As with most high schools, Jensen's story faded into the background as the gossip mills churned out new tales every day. The only person who didn't forget was Jared, but he wasn't sure how to get to the truth.  It bothered him because even though he hated violence, Jared knew sometimes standing up for what you believed in led to actual physical confrontations. But what he didn’t know was if Jensen was defending a cause or just fighting.

 

 

* * *

In late spring, Jared tried out for and landed the role of George Gibbs in the school's production of _Our Town_. It wasn't the lead, but it was a pretty important role.

The cast party on the final night was big enough that Jensen and some of his friends were also there. Jared had just finished getting a plateful of food when Jensen approached him. “Hey, Jared, you were really awesome tonight. I didn't know you were into acting. I mean, I'd be scared shitless up on stage with everyone staring at me like that.”

If he didn't know better, Jared would have thought that Jensen had gone out of his way to congratulate him. He shrugged. “I'm in forensics and it's not that different from that.”

“Forensics? Isn't that CSI? What's that got to do with acting?” Chris Kane asked from his practically permanent spot next to Jensen.

Jensen chuckled and shoved Chris before turning back to Jared. “Sorry, excuse Chris. He's an uncultured idiot.”

Chris smirked, “You don't keep me around for my brains, sweetheart.”

Jared quirked a brow and looked back and forth between the two of them. “Right, well, glad you liked it,” he replied, shoving past them.

Jensen watched him walk away. “Went well.”

“Yeah, he said a whole sentence this time.” Chris patted his arm. “Dude's way too classy for you anyway.”

“Shut up.”

 

Jared joined Chad and his girlfriend Kenzie in the other room. “I'm surprised so many people are here.”

“Really? Why? Just because we turned my bonfire into your cast party doesn't mean it wasn't going to be an awesome party,” Kenzie pointed out.

“Yeah,” Chad agreed. “Who did you see that surprised you?”

“No one.” Jared looked back at where Jensen was laughing with Chris, Tyler and Mike. Did he have to look so hot when he laughed?

Chad followed Jared's gaze. “Oh, that 'no one',” Chad grumbled, earning him an irritated look from Jared.

Jared couldn't stay in a sour mood, though because Colton Haynes chose that moment to join them. “Hey, Jared, You were really good as that George guy.”

Jared smiled. “Thanks Colton.”

Colton smiled and bit his lip in show of nerves. “So, um, there's a fire going in the fire pit outside. Wanna go check it out?”

Jared's grin grew wider. “Sure, why not.”

 

Colton did not hesitate letting Jared know exactly how he felt, holding his hand as they made their way outside. When they took seats by the fire, Colton sat between Jared's legs with his back on Jared's chest, wrapping himself up in Jared.

Colton turned his head and kissed Jared's jaw. “You're so hot. And I don't mean because of the fire.”

Jared huffed a laugh. Everyone knew Colton was a harmless flirt. Usually, Jared would ignore his advances, but tonight he was feeling high from his performance and the attention felt good. “That was pretty cheesy, even for you.”

Colton grinned sheepishly and laughed. “Yeah, but is it working?”

“It's working,” Jared laughed and turned to kiss him properly.

Although he enjoyed the kiss, he didn't want to make out in front of an audience, so he pulled back. He looked around the fire but no one seemed to be paying attention to them. Movement by the door caught his eye and he turned to see Jensen walking back into the house. Jared wondered what Jensen had thought when he saw them kiss, if he saw them at all.

 

* * *

The flirtation with Colton was over by the end of the school year. The good thing about summer break, as far as Jared was concerned, was that he didn't have to see his classmates every day. The best part was getting his driver’s license. However, that too was balanced with the chore of driving his sister around.

 

Every Wednesday, Megan had guitar lessons from six to eight in the evening. Jared would drop her off and then drive to Chad's to play X-box until it was time to pick her up.

 

Jared knew he was going to be in trouble when he was twenty minutes late to pick up Megan, but in his defense, it was the first time he had been close to beating Chad. He was okay with Megan being angry. He would make it up to her so she didn't tell their mom. However, when he arrived at the music store, he didn't expect to find his sister hanging out with Jensen.

He really didn't expect the guy to walk her to the car, either.

As she climbed into the car, Megan turned to Jensen. “Thanks, Jensen.”

“No problem, Megs.”

Jared scowled. _What right did this guy have using that nickname?_

“Hey, Jared,” Jensen said through Megan's open door, “if you're going to be this late, you should call. I can give Meg a ride home if you can't.”

“What the hell is it to you, Ackles?”

“We closed twenty minutes ago. If I hadn't seen her sitting there, I would have left. I have a little sister, too, and I wouldn't want her to wait out here all alone.”

Jared rolled his eyes. _Who the hell did this guy think he was?_ “Whatever. Don't you think she's a little young for you?”

Megan blushed a furious red and whined, “Jared!”

Jensen's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed, then he shook his head and turned to Megan and tried to smile. “I'll see you next week, Megan. Keep practicing.”

 

During the ride home, Megan berated her brother for embarrassing her in front of Jensen, who was 'so cute' and 'so nice' and basically the best thing to happen to Megan since the dawn of time and why did Jared have to be so mean?!

Jared stopped listening almost immediately. His mind was consumed with how good Jensen looked with his sun bleached hair and tanned skin. Just how was that guy real? Ignoring his sister's enthusiastic rambling he asked, “What was Jensen doing there?”

“Lessons, duh, and he works there,” she replied like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

 

Jared was never late again. In fact, there were times he arrived early enough to eavesdrop on Jensen's lesson. After finding him practicing his guitar, Jared sat outside the room and listened. Occasionally, he heard Jensen singing along, but he could never hear clearly enough. The sound of his voice was always too muffled.

One time, he was nearly found out by Jensen himself. He was sitting with his head cocked toward the door, hoping to catch every note, when the door was opened and Jensen walked out with Chris Kane. They didn't seem to notice Jared.

“I love it, man, but you should sing it,” Chris said.

Jensen shook his head. “No way. I'll play back up, but I'm not singing in front of everyone.”

“Well, you gotta sing something or Kripke said you wouldn't get full credit.”

Jensen groaned. “But, I'm god awful. The audience will run screaming from the place.”

Jared jumped to his feet. What audience? Where? He had to be there. Hot or not, there was no way he was going to miss an opportunity to see Jensen embarrass himself in front of an audience.

Once Megan's lesson was over, she made Jared wait as she ran up to Jensen and Chris. She held up her sheet music and began to babble excitedly, making Chris and Jensen smile at her enthusiasm. When she left them, Jared couldn't help but notice the elbow nudge Chris gave Jensen when they saw him, and the shove Jensen gave him in return.

 

After weeks of enduring the torture of seeing Jensen get tanner and more blond, Jared’d had enough. He was going to swallow his pride and talk to Jensen and maybe, just _maybe_ , if the talking went well, ask if he wanted to hang out. Jared didn't know if the 'gay rumor' was true, so he wasn't going to push his luck. He just wanted a chance to find out.

Jensen was at the music store when Jared dropped off Megan. He was looking through a rack of sheet music when Jared thought he had an opening and took his first brave step. Jared didn't notice the guy next to Jensen until he put a hand on Jensen's back. Low on his back. With his thumb slowly stroking the curve of Jensen's spine. Jared wanted that to be his hand so badly he felt ghostly ribs of the cotton on his own hand. Not wanting to get caught staring, Jared spun around and tried to hurry away but bumped into a display of music used on _Glee_ and had to grab it before it fell. If Jensen saw him, Jared wouldn't know; he was too embarrassed and jealous to look.

The image of that hand on Jensen's back haunted Jared constantly. He couldn't explain why it affected him so much, but it was suddenly his goal to become the only one that could touch Jensen like that.

 

The following Sunday afternoon, Jared and his family had to sit through hours of listening to students with varying degrees of musical abilities for Megan's recital. Jared slouched in his chair and played angry birds for most of the time, until his mother elbowed him to pay attention as his sister took the stage. She cleared her throat and began to sing Taylor Swift's _You Belong With Me_ when a guitar string broke and she froze, uncertain what to do and close to tears.

Before Jared could laugh, his mother's sharp elbow to his ribs shushed him. His attention was now focused on the stage where Jensen was suddenly at his sister's side. In his hand was another guitar, his guitar. “Hey, happens all the time, Megan. Even to Taylor Swift, but she has a roadie to hand her another guitar. Just pretend I'm your roadie and go on,” he whispered encouragingly.

With her emotions under control, Megan nodded and started again. She finished with no problems and Jared stood to go when his mother stopped him. “It's not over. Sit back down.”

Jared rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. Would he ever be allowed to leave? Jared tuned out the man that stepped on stage and rambled on about something utterly useless to Jared. However, his attention was awakened when Chris Kane and Jensen Ackles took the stage.

Chris grinned and announced, “We're going to perform three songs for you. The first is _[Angeles](http://stopallthenoise.tumblr.com/post/74729971472/angeles-performed-by-jensen-ackles)_ by Elliott Smith _._ The second song is [_Faster_](http://stopallthenoise.tumblr.com/post/74730590809/faster-matt-nathanson) by Matt Nathanson, and then we'll end the show with a song written by Jensen called _[Let me go](http://stopallthenoise.tumblr.com/post/74730505622/let-me-go-by-chris-kane)  _ and let you all get out of here.”

Jared smirked at Jensen's nervous appearance, but stopped as they began to sing. Enthralled as he was with the performance, Jared was barely able to manage hitting the record button on his iPhone.

When the three songs were over, the room erupted in applause, much more applause than the other students had received. Jensen's eyes widened in shock and his deer in the headlight look made Jared laugh.

 

* * *

 

Once school started, Jared grew more obsessed with Jensen. They had a few classes together, and Jensen was always polite, but he seemed to go out of his way to avoid Jared. Soon, Jared decided that even though he was physically attracted to Jensen, the guy still shared homework assignments with others, he was arrogant about being the starting running back, and seemed to flirt with as many girls as guys. Jensen Ackles was hot as hell, but not the kind of guy Jared ever wanted to date.

 

Because he was on the basketball team, Jared would occasionally use the school's training room after school. He had just finished his shower when he heard arguing.

Someone snarled, “You should just quit, princess.” It was followed by the sound of someone’s body hitting a locker.

“You'd like that, asshole, but that’s not going to happen.” Jared recognized Jensen's voice and walked closer.

“Think about it,” the other guy drawled. “I'd hate to have something happen to that pretty face of yours.”

“Aw, you think I'm pretty.” Jensen's retort was enough to get him shoved into the lockers, again.

Not sure what to do, Jared started whistling and turned the corner. Pretending he hadn't known they were there, he cheerfully greeted them, “Hey, guys.”

Jensen had just grabbed the jersey of the other player, about to retaliate for the shoving, when Jared's greeting stopped him. He released the other guy with a small push. “On the field, Olsson.”

The guy glared at Jared then left Jensen with the threat, “This ain't over.”

Once alone, Jensen slowly pulled off his jersey and sat on the bench to catch his breath.

Jared appreciated the play of muscle on Jensen's back as he tore off his shirt and the sight of him in just his tight football pants as he lay back. But even that wasn't enough to distract him from a painful looking bruise that was low on his hip. Jensen sighed heavily and lay back on the bench.

Concerned, Jared walked over. “You all right?”

Jensen opened his eyes and blinked up at him. After a second, he coughed and said, “Yeah. I'm fine. A couple seniors don't like that I took the starting spot, no big deal.” Jared didn't look like he believed him, so Jensen continued, “Seriously, it's nothing, just a little hazing.” As he sat up, he winced slightly. “I'd appreciate it if you'd keep this between us. If you tell the coach, it's just going to get worse.”

Jared thought for a moment, but relented, “Okay, I won't say anything, but you shouldn't let them get away with it.”

Jensen smirked. “My mad skills on the field will shut them up soon enough.” He stood and opened his locker which meant the conversation was over. No matter how much he wanted to, Jared couldn't stand there and watch Jensen peel off the uniform pants he was wearing.

 

Jared went to many football games -- not just to watch Jensen. That was just a coincidence. Jensen was the starting running back and played nearly every down. He also seemed to score a touchdown at least once a game and if he didn't, he got the team within field goal range. Only Jared noticed how often a block was missed when Jensen ran and how often a certain teammate didn't help him up.

Then it happened. In the second last game of the season, Olsson purposely missed an easy block. Two defenders tackled Jensen with such force that the sound of the collision silenced the crowd. Jared, along with the rest of the fans, stood, watching in agony as Jensen didn’t get up. The trainer and the coach went onto the field. Then, a stretcher was brought out. Then a sickening hush fell over the entire field as the paramedics were called onto the field.

 

Jensen missed a week of school due to having both his acl and pcl in his right knee torn. Emergency surgery repaired what it could, but no one thought he’d play again. He seemed to have such a bubble of anger around him that only his closest friends dared to go near him. This was why no one was with him when Ty Olsson confronted him by his locker after school.

Chad and Jared were making their way out of the building when they heard, “It’s a shame about your leg, Ackles.”

Jared couldn’t believe his ears. Was Olsson sincere? Chad grabbed his arm and dragged him back towards the lockers.

Jensen slammed his locker. “Fuck you, Olsson. Good luck getting to state without me.”

“At least I won’t have you pervin’ on my ass.”

“You fucktard, no one’s interested in your ignorant ass.”

Olsson barked a harsh laugh. “I’m good with that. Are you good with no schools being interested in broken fa--” He didn’t have a chance to finish. Somehow Jensen propelled himself forward, knocking the other guy the ground.

Jared and Chad were on them instantly, trying to separate them. A moment later, teachers were there, pulling them apart. “What’s going on here?” Mr. Singer demanded, staring down the four students on the floor.

Chad put his hand out to Jensen and helped him up, while Jared shoved Olsson to push himself up. Chad was first to speak. “Well, Mr. Singer, as you know, Ty’s had problems reading defenses all season.  Jared and I were trying to help him with his blocking. Jensen here was just attempting to walk through his simple off tackle run, when his bum leg made him fall. Padalecki was already in motion, so there was no stopping him and we all ended up on the floor.”

Jared thought Mr. Singer’s eyebrows had disappeared into his hairline the man had raised them so far. “Well if that ain’t some sweet smelling manure you’re trying to sell me.” He looked at each student in turn and then decided to question Olsson. “Well, Mr. Olsson, is that what happened? Was Padalecki trying to show you the proper way to block some one?”

The boy dragged his resentful eyes from Jensen, glared at Chad and then said, “Somethin’ like that.”

The other teachers shrugged. None of them had seen anything. Mr. Singer sighed. “All right, get out of here.” He grabbed Jared’s arm. “Couldn’t you have shown him before he cost Ackles his knee?”

When the teachers had shuffled back to their rooms, Jensen muttered a quiet thanks to Chad.

Chad grinned. “Dude, what were you thinking?! You just had surgery. You can’t go a couple rounds with that shit head.”

“Yeah, I know, but he’s been an asshole all season.”

“I should have said something after what happened in the locker room,” Jared interjected quietly.

Jensen turned to him. “No. It’s better that you didn’t. And you shouldn’t have done anything now.”

Jared snorted. “Were we supposed to just let him beat the crap out of you?”

Jensen glared. “Better me than you and at least then he’d be off the team, too,” he snapped before hobbling away on his crutches.

Jared stared incredulously at him as he walked away. “Can you believe that guy?”

Chad shrugged. “I don’t know. I heard he lost a scholarship. I’d be pissed, too.”

 

 

* * *

When basketball season began, Jared often saw Jensen and his clique of friends at the games. Unfortunately, he always seemed to be watching when Jared made a mistake. Knowing that Jensen must be criticizing him, Jared felt unreasonably irritated every time he saw him.

 

The only school event Jared really cared about was in early January: the auditions for the school play. This year, Mr. Edlund and Mr. Carver were directing _Romeo and Juliet_. From the moment it was announced, Jared planned on being Romeo.

The auditorium was dark, but it was buzzing with the voices of potential actors. Some veteran crew members had closed the curtain and set the lights. Mr. Edlund took his seat in the center of the audience. He held a stack of papers and a clipboard. Mr. Carver soon joined him and together they stood to address the crowd of students.

“As you know, Shakespeare is a challenge, but all of you are familiar with the story of _Romeo and Juliet_ , so you'll find the language soon becomes second nature,” Mr. Carver announced. “Everyone who filled out a form will get a chance to audition.”

Mr. Edlund looked around. “We're glad to see some new faces and this gives us the chance to explain our process. Once everyone has read their lines, we may call some back to hear you read again, or to read for another character. As this may happen more than once, do not plan on leaving after your first reading.”

“Everyone will have a chance to perform a selection more than once. Then Mr. Edlund and I will make our decision and post the cast list on the theater door before the end of school tomorrow.”

“You then have the choice. The choice to join us, sign your name and sell your soul to the theater. Or cross out your name and deny the world your talent,” Mr. Edlund said with a flair of drama.

Mr. Carver shook his head at Edlund's antics. “And there you have it. We'd like to have some sort of order, so we are going to call your names in alphabetical order. You will then proceed to the stage and tell us which character you are reading for. Give us five minutes to get organized, and we'll begin.”

Jared looked around at his competition. It looked like the usual crowd and he didn't feel too threatened. He'd get Romeo or one of the major characters at least, for sure. He nodded to Sandy and she waved. She'd be Juliet; no one else had as much experience.

His musing was interrupted by Mr. Carver calling the first name. “All right, first up is a newcomer. Everyone remember your manners and keep silent while we listen to Jensen Ackles.”

Jared bolted upright in his seat. Jensen? What the hell was Jensen doing there?! Since when did he think he could act? The murmuring in the auditorium told Jared he wasn’t the only one surprised to see Jensen.

“Quiet down everyone. Now, Jensen, we know you're new to this, but which part were you going to read?”

Jensen cleared his throat, “I'm hoping for a small part, like 'page', but I didn't see that on the script choices.” His reply earned him a small tittering of laughter and he blushed.

“No one reads for the small parts, son,” Edlund replied amused. “Do you think you could read for Tybalt?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Good,” Mr. Carver said. “I'll read Capulet's lines.”

Jared was stunned as he listened to Jensen's performance. He was good; he spoke the lines clearly and in the proper rhythm.

When they were done, Mr. Edlund said, “Jensen, turn to the first page, and read the prologue for us.”

Jared cursed under his breath. Asking him to read another part right away meant they thought he was good, too.

 

It was painful to wait for his turn, but finally Jared was called. As he flawlessly performed the balcony scene, he forgot about Jensen's performance and focused on his own.

 

After what seemed like forever, the directors called various students to perform again and much to Jared's chagrin, Jensen read for several characters, including Mercutio, which was the only role other than Romeo that interested Jared.

He was forced to ignore his self-doubt when he was called to play opposite Jensen in the scene between Tybalt and Romeo. It was uncomfortable, but they made it look easy.

 

After the auditions, Jared, Sandy and Milo huddled. “Ackles was pretty good,” Milo admitted, needing his friends to soothe his nerves.

“Don't worry, Milo. This isn't _High School Musical_ and he's no Zac Efron,” Sandy said reassuringly.

Jared nearly laughed. With how well Jensen could sing, they'd all be in trouble if it was a musical. Behind Milo, Jared could see Jensen gathering his belongings. “Sandy's right. Jensen was okay, but you have more experience. Besides, Carver and Edlund will see that he'd ruin the play. He doesn't know what he's doing.”

“Yeah,” Sandy continued, “he's a jock. No real brain power there.”

Milo didn't look convinced. “I don't know. Between him and Jason, I'm not feeling that confident.”

“There are so many good parts for guys in this play, you have nothing to worry about,” Sandy said as she put her arm around him. “Come on. We'll rent the Leonardo version on the way home and pig out on ice cream while we watch. See you later, Jared.”

 

The next day, Jared was a ball of nerves. He knew he had a part, but waiting all day to see if Jensen was also cast, was killing him. He couldn't pay attention in his classes and he wasn't the only one. Sandy had forgotten her assignment in math, Milo's name was called three times in English before he answered, and in history Jensen accidentally spilled the contents of his backpack while looking for a notebook. He turned every shade of red as he hurried to gather his belongings. In his rush, he missed a notebook that had slipped under a nearby bookcase. After class, Jared retrieved it and slipped it into his own pack.

 

In study hall, Jared opened Jensen's notebook, hoping to play a harmless prank. However, it wasn't simply a notebook. It appeared to be a journal. Forgetting about his classwork, Jared began to read. It felt so clandestine, that he kept looking around nervously as if waiting to be caught.

 

> _It's not fair that coach is still making me tutor these guys. There is no way I'm doing their work for them. Fuck that. I've got enough of my own work to do. I don't see why it's my responsibility to make sure they pass._

 

Jared read a little further. Five guys? Jensen was tutoring five guys in math and another couple of guys in history. No wonder he was always passing papers back and forth. He wasn't cheating, he was tutoring.

Jared groaned at his complete misunderstanding. He should stop reading. It felt wrong -- it _was_ wrong. These were Jensen's personal thoughts and Jared would hate it if anyone read his private thoughts, so he should stop... _wait is that my name?_

Since it was about him, Jared felt vindicated in reading at least this one paragraph more.

 

> _I've really tried to stay away from him, but Jared is involved in everything which makes it kinda hard. I hate that I think he’s hot given that he hates me, but in my defense he's perfect. He said these ridiculous puns in science today which were hilarious, but no one else seemed to get them besides Ms. Ferris._

 

Jared smiled to himself. _So Jensen thinks I'm hot_. He decided it was okay to read the entries with his name. He paged back a bit and found:

 

> _Turns out Jared isn't a homophobe. It's me. He just hates me. Saw him making out with Colton Haynes at the party, so obviously it isn't a gay thing. It's me. Wish I knew what I did to make him hate me. I didn't think it would hurt so much or even bother me to see him with someone else. I know I don't have a chance with him, but it still sucks. I tried talking to him tonight, but, as usual, he acted like I was diseased._

 

Jared hung his head feeling ashamed. He shut the book and returned it to his backpack. He needed a way to return it to Jensen without the guy knowing he had it.

 

* * *

After school, there was already a small crowd around the auditorium doors when Jared arrived. As he stepped up to join them, Jensen was making his way out of the throng with an indiscernible look on his face. Several students turned to look at him as he left and their mumblings soon got louder. Jared heard one kid say, “What did he do that for?”

Suddenly he had his arms full of Sandy McCoy. “Jared! We did it! We're Romeo and Juliet!” she squealed. She handed him a pen. “Here, go sign your name and we can grab our scripts.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jared replied distractedly, taking the pen and easing his way to the front. After signing his name, he read the cast list, looking for Jensen's name, but he didn't find it. Instead, next to Tybalt, he saw a name scribbled out.

“I don't know why he bothered auditioning if he didn't want a part,” Sandy said, as she suddenly appeared next to him.

“Yeah, weird,” Jared agreed. They began to walk to where they would get their rehearsal scripts, Jared realized he could read Jensen's journal if he wanted to know his motive for auditioning. “San, I just remembered I have to pick up Megan. My mom will kill me if I'm late again. I'll grab a script in the morning.”

 

Jared sat in his room staring at the journal. It was wrong, but he had to know. It had already cleared up other misconceptions; it should help explain why Jensen didn't want to be in the play, right? Jared argued with himself for several minutes before cursing his own weakness and opening the book to the last page.

 

> _What the fuck am I doing here? Why did I let Ladouceur talk me into this? ‘If you want to spend time with him, find a common interest’. How about we both think I'm an idiot? This is not going to lead to Jared and me becoming friends. This is going to be a disaster. They already laughed at me once. If I go through with this, it's going to be as bad as football. Except none of these kids could actually hurt me if they punched me._

 

> _Jared said I'd ruin the play. If Edlund is crazy enough to give me a part, there's no way I'm taking it._

 

 

Jared felt sick reading that last entry. He imagined how he would feel if he heard what Jensen had heard and felt even worse. He wondered why Jensen even cared what he thought. He went to shut the book completely but only succeeded in turning to a page near the front.

 

> _The only good thing about getting jumped by those guys from Hamilton was Jared talked to me again. He actually looked concerned for a minute. Then Rosenbaum said something that made it sound like I was gay, and Jared walked away. Maybe he's a homophobe. At least then he wouldn't be perfect._

 

Jared began to flip through pages looking for his name again and hoping there was something he could use to convince Jensen not to hate him, or that he didn't hate Jensen, when he saw his name in all capitals.

 

> _Olsson followed me into the locker room again. Guess the kidney punch he gave me on the field just wasn't enough. Who shows up in time to stop me from getting payback? JARED PADALECKI. In nothing but a towel! Naked Padaleckis need to come with a warning cuz ALL my blood ran south. Thank god I was wearing a cup so he couldn't tell, but DAMN. Jared Padalecki in a towel is my new favorite thing. He was so fucking hot. I thought I was going to pass out. Then he kept standing there when I was going to change. It was like every fucking dirty thought I've ever had was live and in person in front of me. God I don't even know if I looked him in the face. I'm pretty sure my eyes never left the towel; I kept hoping it would fall off. Of course if it did, I probably would have fallen to my knees. Shit. I am not going to be able to look at him tomorrow in class._

 

Jared stared at the page. He remembered that day. He remembered Jensen's ass in those pants and how he looked stretched out on that bench. He wondered how many times he fantasized about finding Jensen alone like that in the locker room. That's when he knew he had to man up and tell Jensen how he felt.

 

* * *

 

Nervously, Jared knocked on the door. He had to see Jensen, had to, right then, or his head would explode. Or maybe his heart. How had he been so blind? All this time, all the things Jensen did to make him angry was only because Jared had chosen to see them that way.

He pulled off his beanie, ran a hand over his hair to smooth it, and knocked again. This time he heard a faint “coming” from inside. Then Jensen's mother opened the door. “Hello.”

Jared had to remind himself to speak. “Hi, Mrs. Ackles, I'm Jared Padalecki. I was wondering if I could talk to Jensen for a minute.”

“Of course. Why don't you come in?” She stepped aside and turned to the girl behind her. “Mack, go tell Jensen his friend is here.”

The girl snorted and muttered something with the word friend, but ran up the stairs as she was told. “He'll be right down. Why don't you sit?” Mrs. Ackles smiled at him and directed him to the couch. “Jensen told us you're going to be Romeo in the play. Congratulations. Jensen tried out, but didn't make it. I told him not to be upset about it since Shakespeare is difficult even for professional actors.”

“Thank you,” Jared said quietly, feeling guilty that Jensen would have had a part if not for him and knowing he had lied to his mother about it.

Before he could feel too awkward, Jensen and his sister came down the steps. “Jared.”

At his name, Jared turned to see Jensen looking pale, nervous, and so scared that Jared wanted to wrap him up in a hug and tell him everything was going to be all right.

Instead, he tried a friendly smile and said, “Hey, Jensen, I found this.” He stood and held up the journal and watched Jensen look even more ill.

“Mom, Jared and I will be on the porch.” Jensen grabbed Jared's elbow and nearly dragged him out the door.

 

It was dark in the screened in porch, the only light being what streamed in from the street light. Even with the windows closed, it was cold and Jensen wasn't wearing a jacket, so Jared knew he wasn't going to have much time to talk.

Jensen looked ready to pounce, ready to destroy everything in front of him. But when he looked from the journal to Jared, the fight drained out of him. He hung his head so as not to look at anything. Barely above a whisper, he asked, “So, how much Xanax am I going to need to get through tomorrow?”

“What?”

“Two? Three? The whole bottle?” He glanced at Jared to gauge his response, but the guy looked confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“How bad is it going to be?” Jensen's voice trembled as he looked at the journal in Jared's hand. “There are some choice pages in there. What did you do? Copy them and hang them around school? The locker room? I suppose I should thank you for letting me be prepared.”

Jared held the book out to him. “Jensen, I didn't, I wouldn't --”

“Right. Come on, Jared, I know what you think of me. _I'm worse than pond scum because at least that contributes to something_.”

Guilt twisted Jared's stomach and he shrank from hearing his words thrown back at him. “I wouldn't do that.”

Jensen smirked in disbelief and moved away to lean against the wall. “So what are you going to do? Blackmail me? Keep me waiting for the other shoe to drop? Make my life even more of a living hell than it already is?”

“No.” Jared wasn't sure how to convince him that everything was different now, that he truly didn't want to hurt him.

“Don't try to tell me you didn't read it. I know what you think of me. The whole school knows what you think of me, so I'm sure you're fucking thrilled at the chance to humiliate me.”

“I read it. Parts of it, anyway. But, you're wrong; only one person knows what I think of you.”

Jensen huffed bitterly. “Believe me, Jared; everyone knows you think I'm...” His voice broke and he sucked in a breath. He looked close to tears for a moment before he concluded. “You pretty much think I'm shit, if you even think of me at all.”

“That’s not true and I can prove it.” Without hesitation, Jared pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Chad. He held up his finger to make Jensen wait for him to be finished. When Chad answered, Jared put the phone on speaker and said, “Hey, Chad, I've got to tell you what Ackles did today.”

“No. Jesus Christ, Jared. Just no. What did I tell you? Get over yourself. Grow a pair and ask the guy out. I can't take this love/hate thing you've got with th' guy. You know you want him; you're just fooling yourself with this 'I hate him' bullshit. No one but him believes it.” Chad sounded genuinely annoyed. “You know what? It would serve you right if Ackles wanted nothing to do with you after all the crap you pull. I hope you do finally man up and ask him out and he spits in your face. You'd deserve it.”

“Wow. How do you really feel, Chad?” Jared laughed before looking up to see the subject of the phone call staring at him with an unreadable expression.

“Seriously, it's getting old --”

Chad was cut off when Jared disconnected. Suddenly nervous, Jared shifted his weight, tucked the journal under his arm and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “So, uh ...” he babbled unsure of where to begin.

“Can I have my notebook back?” Jensen asked timidly.

“Yeah, absolutely.” Jared quickly fumbled the book back to its owner.

“Thanks.”

Jensen's hand was shaking as he reached for it and Jared could see that he didn't look any less scared than he did before.

“You're cold. Maybe you should go grab a jacket, so we can keep talking. I don't want you to get sick.”

“You want to keep talking?”

Jared nodded. “Yeah, maybe we could go for a walk or something.”

Jensen looked out the porch window to the street.

Jared could see Jensen deliberating and decided to he needed to earn a little of Jensen's trust. “Okay, well, before you go back inside, I feel like I should tell you something.”

Jared scratched the back of his head, remembering the advice he looked up. _Level the field; tell him something embarrassing about yourself and it should make him feel more comfortable_. “Remember when I fell asleep in Singer's class?”

“Yeah?” Jensen replied looking completely confused at the turn in conversation.

“Well, I, uh, was….” This was a lot harder to say out loud than Jared had previously thought so he took a deep breath and blurted it out as one word. “I was having a really-hot-sex-dream-about-you.”

Jensen blinked at him a couple times. “What?”

“I was dreaming about you and you were taking off your clothes and I might have been naked and we were by a Christmas tree.” Jared admitted more slowly this time.

“Oh my god.” Jensen leaned against the wall and almost started to smile.

That hint of a smile made Jared continue. “It was just getting good when Singer had to go and wake me up.” He was blushing, but he thought Jensen was enjoying his confession. “And I don't know what's worse, the fact that you were looking at me all worried or that I had to talk in front of the class.”

Jensen was clearly trying not to laugh, but a small chuckle escaped as he replied. “I thought you were sick. You were flushed.”

“I was sick. I was so scared everyone would see my hard-on when I had to stand in front of the class, I almost puked.”

“Oh my god,” Jensen repeated as he gave in and chuckled.

“Fine. Laugh at my pain. I was so embarrassed.” Jared smiled; thrilled he was finally making Jensen smile and laugh. “It gets better. Because as I'm standing up there all I can think is ' _don't look at Jensen – don't look at Jensen'_ because if I look at you, I might sport wood again, but you sit in the front row so I kind of have to look at you.”

“You looked like you wished I was dead,” Jensen interrupted.

“Because you're looking at me all concerned and sucking on your fucking pen!” He ran a hand through his hair and then quietly added, “You have no idea what that does to me.” He met Jensen's eyes. “It was all I could do to not think about you naked and then you suck on that pen and I thought I was going to go insane. I wanted to fucking tackle you.”

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, each wondering what was happening between them and what it might mean, when Jensen asked, “You still want to go for a walk?”

“If you do.”

“I'll be right back.” Jensen disappeared into the house, returning a minute later without his journal and zipping up a warm sweatshirt.

 

They walked in silence past a few houses until Jensen spoke. “Thank you for returning my journal. Why didn't you use it to get back at me?”

“Back at you for what?”

Jensen shrugged. “I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, I just know you don't like me and I don't understand why you're being nice to me now.”

Jared's brow wrinkled in confusion. Didn't his confession about the dream in class mean anything? Wasn't what Chad had said enough to convince Jensen that he didn't hate him?

“You know how you tutor like half the team in math and bunch of other guys in history?” Jared asked.

“It's not half the team.”

“Yeah, well, close enough. I didn't know any of that. I knew you got good grades, but I always saw you exchanging papers with other guys. I thought you were all copying and cheating.”

“I don't--” Jensen argued, but Jared spoke over him.

“Like last year I thought you plagiarized the Rome paper. I work my ass off to get my grades and it pissed me off that you would get the same grades by cheating.”

“I work my ass off, too. I don't cheat,” Jensen asserted more firmly this time.

“I know. Now. Because I read your journal,” Jared admitted sheepishly. “I also thought you were mocking me by coming to the basketball game.”

“What? It's called supporting your friends. You're not the only one on the team,” Jensen retorted, allowing some frustration to show.

“Again, I know that _now_. But it seemed like whenever I messed up you were there, watching me. I figured you were making fun of me.”

Jensen dragged his hand over his head and huffed. “I was watching you because I was watching the game. Kinda gotta follow the ball to know what's going on.”

“I get that, but it was the same thing with the play. Last year I thought you were there to make fun of me and this year I thought you were trying out because –

“Because I was just there to ruin the play. I know, I heard you.”

“That's why you quit, huh?” Jared asked feeling sick over how he had acted.

Jensen shrugged a shoulder. “Not really. You were right. I mean, I wasn't there to 'ruin' the play, but the end result would be the same. There's no way I could act in front of an audience.”

“You're completely wrong.” Jared stopped walking, forcing Jensen to stop and look at him. “Jensen, I only said all that because I knew you could hear me. You're a much better Tybalt than Jason or Milo.”

 “You're insane. I don't belong up there.”

“I'm not insane, and you _are_ good.” Jared had hoped his words would reassure Jensen, but the guy still looked doubtful. He didn't want to remind him that he read the journal, but Jared couldn't think of another way to convince him. “In your journal, you wrote that you tried out because you hoped it would mean spending time together. You wanted me to see that you weren't the awful person I thought you were. Well, I see that. I see that I was the awful person and I _really_ want to spend time with you so that I can prove to you I'm not actually the asshole you think I am.”

“I never thought you were an asshole,” Jensen replied quietly. “I know I must have given you reasons to hate me.”

“No.”

Jensen fixed him with a disbelieving look. “Come on Jared! You're like the nicest guy in school. Everyone likes you. The fact that you hate me means I did something really shitty 'cause you don't hate anyone.”

“But I was wrong about it, about everything! Everything I thought you did that made you an asshole, is actually stuff that makes you not an asshole.” Jared's voice rose in frustration. Couldn't Jensen just forget that stuff so they could move on?

They had come to another corner and Jensen stopped. “Okay, so what does this mean? Are we friends now?” Jensen was looking at him wide-eyed and almost hopeful.

“Do you want to be friends?”

Jensen looked away. “It beats the alternative. I really don't want you hating me anymore.”

“I don't hate you.”

Jared stuffed his hands in his pockets to stay warm. As they walked back to Jensen's house he wondered how he could prove himself to Jensen. “You know I never really hated you. You were just so annoyingly perfect and good looking that you made me crazy.”

“That's funny coming from _you_. I'm pretty sure you've secured the number one spot in our class and I doubt Colton Haynes throws himself at ugly guys.”

At the mention of his short lived relationship, Jared wanted to ask Jensen about the guy from the music store, but didn't want to seem like a stalker. “Hey,” he nearly shouted as he remembered something on his phone. “I want to show you something.” He scrolled through his music and clicked on _JA_ and the next thing Jensen knew, he was listening to himself sing.

Instead of smiling, instead of anything Jared had expected, Jensen recoiled. “Fuck, FUCK! I am such an idiot.” He glared at Jared with a mix of pain and disgust. “I can't fucking believe this. You win. Okay? I fell for it. All of it.” He stalked towards his house, thankful it wasn't far.

“Jensen, what are you talking about?”

“You and your whole 'let's be friends' bullshit. Christ Jared, what did I do to you? Why the fuck do you hate me so much?”

Flabbergasted, Jared stammered, “I.., I don't --”

“Right. You humiliate all your friends,” Jensen spat and pushed passed him.

Jared rushed up to him. “I'm not trying to humiliate you. I was trying --”

Jensen shoved him away angrily. “Do what you want, Jared. If I made it through football, I can survive whatever you're going to do.”

“Look at the play count. I listen to this practically every day!” Jared argued.

“I saw you laughing at me, it doesn't matter how many times you --”

“I wasn't laughing at you!” Jared shouted. He moved in front of Jensen, hoping to stop him. “I wasn't. You and Chris were awesome. You just looked so shocked that we were clapping for you, that I laughed.” His voice trailed off at the end as he thought of how it must have looked to Jensen.

Jensen's expression remained pained. “Forget it, Jared,” he mumbled, shaking his head and making his way around the guy.

“Jensen, come on. I didn't want to make you angry. I thought we were finally getting along. I only wanted to show you how much I liked your song,” Jared pleaded.

Jensen sighed heavily. “Jared, if you want to be my friend, be my friend.”

“What does that mean?”

Instead of answering, Jensen shook his head and kept walking. Jared fell in step next to him, but remained quiet, lost in thought.

When they arrived at Jensen's house, Jared said, “As your friend, you should change your mind about the play. You were an excellent Tybalt, the best.” Jensen's only response was to press his lips together and look away. Jared sighed. “Look, I fucked this up. I came over here hoping I could erase the last two years of being an asshole, but I guess I've got my work cut out for me. I just want a chance.”

Jensen put his hand on Jared's shoulder as he walked passed him. “Bye, Jared.”

“See you tomorrow, Jensen,” he called as he watched Jensen walked up the steps to his house.

 

 

* * *

The next day, Jared waited for Jensen by his locker. When Jensen didn't show, Jared worried that he wouldn't be there at all. When he saw him later, Jared practically ran up to him. “Hey, I waited for you by your locker this morning. I was worried you were absent. What happened? Oversleep?”

Jensen flushed at the attention and seemed confused. “I came early. Why were you waiting for me?”

Jared shrugged and smiled pleasantly. “I don't know. Wanted to, I guess. Why'd you come early?”

“Damage control. You know, in case…” His voice trailed off.

Jared's smile was wiped from his face. “I told you I didn't do anything,” he said sounding bitter.

“Sorry. Wasn't sure I should believe you.”

Jared squinted at him, but didn't think he was being sarcastic. He stopped at Jensen's desk when they got to class. “I’m gonna earn your trust, Jensen, believe me.”

Jensen sat, gave him a half smile and nodded.  

After that class, Jared walked with Jensen to all of their shared classes and asked him to wait for him after school.

 

While Jensen waited by his locker, Chris and Tyler approached him. “What is going on with Padalecki?” Tyler demanded. “Why has he been all over you today?”

“I don't know. He wants to be friends all of a sudden.”

Chris and Tyler exchanged looks. “Right,” Chris said. “And if you believe that...”

“Honestly, I don't know what to believe,” Jensen admitted. “I'll probably regret it when this blows up in my face, but I'll regret it as much if I don't try to give Jared a chance.”

Tyler shook his head. “Man, if he's just fucking with you, I'll kill him.”

Trying to lighten the situation, Jensen teased, “No one's fucking anyone -- yet.”

Chris and Tyler gaped at him. “You're not serious,” Chris began, making Jensen laugh.

“Hey, Jensen, can I talk to you for a minute?” Jared asked as he walked up, sounding surprisingly timid.

Tyler and Chris spun around, surprised to see Jared. “Sure, what's up?” Jensen asked.

Tyler put his hand on Jensen's chest and whispered into his ear. After he patted Jensen’s chest, and he and Chris walked away.

Jared felt an instant pang of jealousy. He hadn't considered whether Jensen was seeing anyone. “Y'all don't have to leave on my account,” Jared called after them.

“Don't worry about them, they were leaving anyway,” Jensen said looking up at him. “Why did you want me to wait for you?”

Jared shifted his weight. “Did you reconsider being in the play?”

Jensen nervously scratched the back of his head. “I don't know, Jared, Just because you want me there, doesn't mean anyone else does. And they gave the part to someone else by now. Wouldn't be fair if I stepped up now.”

Jared chewed his lip in thought. “You were better than all of them and Carver and Edlund would give you any part you wanted. Just come with me to get a script and talk to them. You owe me that much.”

Jensen's brows shot up. “I owe _you_?”

Jared grinned. “Yeah, you forced me to be on Homecoming court last year. The least you could do is prance around on stage in some tights.”

Jensen paled. “I'm not wearing tights!”

“They're no worse than your football uniform,” Jared reminded him. He grabbed Jensen's upper arm. “Come on. Just talk to them. See if they'll let you still be Tybalt. If not, I'm sure the page role is still available.”

Jensen pulled his arm free. “Yeah, why did everyone think that was funny?”

“Because no one auditions for those roles. Everyone wants to be lead.”

“Not me.”

Jared smiled affectionately. “Yeah, not you.”

 

Jensen kept behind Jared when he knocked on the theater office door. “Mr. Carver? Mr. Edlund?”

Edlund opened the door. “Hey, Jared, come on in. We were just discussing,” he stopped speaking when he saw Jensen. His face lit up and he grinned at Carver. “Tell us this means you've reconsidered and you want to be Tybalt!”

Jensen seemed to shrink. “No. But if you still need somebody for a small part, I could maybe do that.”

The two directors sighed in resignation and slumped against the desk in defeat. “Look, I know you said you wanted to be a page,” Carver began, “but do you want to know why we cast you as Tybalt?”

“Because you're an athlete,” Edlund continued, not giving Jensen a chance to speak. “Tybalt has three fight scenes. Three. Two of them immediately follow each other and he has to speak lines while fighting.”

“Not only did you read well, but you're the only one other than Jared who could swing a sword and speak Shakespeare at the same time,” Carver explained.

Jensen stared at them, wide-eyed and slightly panicked. He looked at Jared and found him smiling brightly at him. Turning back to the directors, he admitted, “But I've never acted before. I'll be terrible.”

They scoffed. “You'll be great. Tybalt is an important character, but he’s only in two acts”

“You wanted a small part. Tybalt, while vital, doesn’t have that many lines,” Carve explained. “So? Will you do it?”

Again he looked to Jared, who nodded his encouragement. “Okay, but I'm not wearing tights.”

 

The schedule for the next few weeks was grueling. Immediately after classes, play practice would begin. During the long hours and difficult work, the other actors accepted Jensen. At first, Sandy was belligerent, but Jensen's attitude and professionalism won her over.

Jensen accepted criticism better than expected and eagerly listened to suggestions from his cast mates. Even when everyone was tired and short tempered, Jensen did his best to be upbeat. The more time Jared spent with Jensen, the more he regretted the time wasted hating him. Every day he seemed to find something new to like. His new favorite was catching Jensen watching him.

 

The best day of rehearsal, to Jared and the rest of the cast, was the day costumes were fitted. Tiny curtained dressing rooms were wheeled in, costumes were distributed and the actors changed into Renaissance youth. All actors but one that is. 

The entire male cast was quietly changing when Jensen broke that silence. “Aw, hell no. I’m not wearing these. You guys said no tights!”

“They’re not tights,” Jared said from the booth next to him. “They have holes in the bottoms where your feet go. See?”

“Yeah, I see. I see a pair of friggin’ tights, Jared!”

“Jensen, relax. We’ll all be wearing them. It’s no big deal,” Jason offered from the booth on the other side.

“Just put them on. When your whole costume is on, you’ll see, it will be fine,” Milo called from another booth.

Soon, all of the actors were dressed and admiring each other’s costumes. “All right, gentlemen, let’s have a look,” Mr. Carver said as he joined them. After a quick head count he called, “Is there a problem, Mr. Ackles?”

From behind his curtained booth Jensen replied, “Yeah, there’s a problem. You said no tights.”

“No, you said ‘no tights’. I said nothing about them,” Mr. Carver corrected.

“Come on, Jensen. We’re all wearing them,” Jared said, hoping to encourage him.

“Yeah, what’s the matter, Jensen, aren’t you confident enough in your manhood to wear the costume?” Jason teased.

“Dude, I’m very confident in my manhood,” Jensen replied. “It’s my confident manhood that’s making me not want to go out there.”

“Jensen, they are supposed to be tight fitting. And, remember, the rest of your costume drapes lower,” Mr. Carver added.

“You mean the costume I have to take off during the sword fight? Let me tell you Mr. Carver, I don’t think Shakespeare meant this kind of sword fight.”

The other actors chuckled, but the director was not amused. “Jensen, just come out here already.”

Jensen sighed. “I’ll open the curtain, but I’m not walking out there.”

Subtly, Jared moved closer to Carver so he could see over the man’s shoulder as Jensen pulled the curtain back. Jared’s mouth went dry. Jensen looked amazing in his deep red Tybalt costume. “You look great!” the director assured him.

Jensen smirked. “But when I do this,” he pulled on the string to untie his doublet as he would for the sword fight, and his problem with the ‘tights’ became quite apparent. Jared eyes laser focused on Jensen’s very noticeable bulge. The director pulled the curtain closed. “Told you!” Jensen retorted.

“Right. We definitely don’t want the audience to be as confident with your manhood as you are. We’ll have to get you a different size.”

 

From then on it was difficult to be serious while rehearsing sword fights. Jared was easily distracted by the sight of Jensen in his tight t-shirt and track pants. It was made worse when they were finally in dress rehearsal, as Jensen had to strip out of his costume during Tybalt's fight with Mercutio to be left in only a ripped shirt and the tight pants when fighting with Romeo. Jared couldn’t help but recall the image of Jensen in his too small tights And Jared knew he hadn't seen anything sexier than when the scene ended and Jensen did a [kip up](http://stopallthenoise.tumblr.com/post/74730651261) and grinned at him.

* * *

 

The final weekend before the performance, Jensen agreed to spend all of Saturday with Jared in order to catch up with their school work. Jared arrived promptly at ten in the morning, as promised, with coffee and donuts.

Jensen answered the door still rumpled from bed and in the t-shirt and sleep pants he slept in. He took the donuts and coffee and pointed to a bench. “You can put your coat there,” he yawned.

“You wear glasses?” Jared asked smiling gleefully at his half-asleep host.

“No,” Jensen replied, contradicting what was currently on his face. Embarrassed, he took them off immediately. “You're early.”

“It's ten. I said I'd be here at ten, remember?”

Jensen shrugged. “Yeah, it's just none of my other friends are ever on time so I wasn't expecting you yet.” He returned the donuts and one of the coffees to Jared. “Come on up to my room and I'll take a quick shower while you have your breakfast.”

Jared couldn't help the smile that formed when Jensen referred to him as a friend. It meant that Jensen thought they were making progress, a fact that made Jared really happy. He followed Jensen to his room. “This isn't my breakfast. This was supposed to be a snack for us to share.”

Jensen quickly straightened the covers on his bed and waved a hand around as he said, “Make yourself comfortable, I'll be right back.” He grabbed some clothes and handed Jared the TV remote. “Here I insist you watch something idiotic while I'm gone. And thanks for the coffee and ‘snack’. You didn't have to go out of your way like that.”

Jared shot him a look like he thought Jensen was crazy. “Dude, there's a Duncan Donuts on the way to your house.”

“No there isn't.”

“There is if you take Ryerson to 43rd and then 43rd to Sierra. It's like right there.”

Jensen chuckled as he left for his shower.

 

Once alone, Jared was tempted to snoop through Jensen's things. On his desk, were a laptop, an iPod, and some textbooks. There was a stack of cds on a shelf, a large number of dvds, and a digital photo frame lying flat. Thinking it must have fallen over; Jared set it upright, which turned it on. It displayed three pictures on its constant rotation. A selfie of some guy Jared didn't know; another of the same guy and Jensen, both smiling for the camera; and another selfie but this time Jensen was looking at the guy. From the look on Jensen's face, it was obvious that he was in love with the guy. A flood of jealousy consumed Jared; Jensen wasn't supposed to look at anyone like that.

Who was this guy? Were they still together? Jared desperately wanted to know, however, he knew he had already invaded Jensen's privacy when he read the journal. He didn't want to risk the tenuous relationship he had with Jensen any further, so, he planted himself in Jensen's gaming chair and turned on the TV. He'd earn Jensen's trust by doing exactly as Jensen asked and watching something idiotic.

Just as _SpongeBob_ was ending, Jensen returned looking perfect. His glasses were gone, his hair was styled and he dressed like he stepped out of an American Eagle ad. Jared looked down at his ratty sweatshirt and worn jeans and felt under dressed.

 

They worked for a few hours before breaking for a lunch of Jimmie John's, which Jensen insisted on paying for. Afterwards, it didn't take them long to complete the rest of their assignments. Whenever Jared became bored he would be distracted by the picture frame. How could he find out about them but make it seem casual at the same time?

When Jared finished his calculus, he slumped in his chair exhausted. “How do you do it?”

Jensen put his paper away. “Do what?”

“Tutor people and do your own work? I just finished five calculus problems and I want to stab myself in the brain.”

Jensen laughed. “Jared, the guys I tutor aren't in calc. They're in basic algebra and geometry. Pretty simple stuff.”

“I still don't know if I could do it.”

“Well, don't. I wouldn't want you stabbing yourself in the brain.” He organized a few papers and turned to Jared. “Are you done with everything?”

“Yeah. Math was the last of it.”

“Cool. Do you want to --” Jensen was cut off by his mother knocking on his door and opening it.

“Hi, hun, hope I'm not interrupting, but we were wondering if Jared was staying for dinner.”

Jared looked at Jensen hoping to see a clue to what he wanted Jared to say, but Jensen seemed to be studying his floor. So Jared said, “I don't want you to go to any trouble...”

“It's no trouble,” Mrs. Ackles replied.

As she spoke, Jensen crossed the room to his door. “Mom, that was polite for 'no'.”

“Oh,” she laughed. “Well, dinner's in twenty.”

Jensen shut his door and nervously faced Jared, but didn't meet his eyes. “Sorry about that.” Jensen rubbed his arm and returned to his desk.

Jared was confused. He hadn't said 'no' and hadn't Jensen been about to ask him something? Feeling like he was being kicked out, he slowly gathered his things. He wondered if he had missed something. “Jensen, you were saying something before your mom knocked.”

“I was?”

“Yeah. You were asking me something.”

Jensen shrugged. “Sorry, man, I don't remember. Must not have been too important.”

“Right. Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday.” Jared sounded as dejected as he felt. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked to the door.

“Yeah, Monday. One more week and this will all be over,” Jensen added as he walked Jared out.

“You act like you're never going to see the rest of us again. After the play, of course, is the best part – the party.”

Jensen looked apprehensive. “Right, the party.”

Jared didn't know what to make of Jensen's concern. “You went last year and you weren't even in the play. You've got to go this time.”

“Last year I went to Kenzi's bonfire. I didn't know it was also the cast party until we got there.”

Jared grabbed his coat and Jensen followed him out onto the porch. “Since you're part of the cast, you're going,” Jared said firmly.

“I don't know, Jared. I think it's going to be kinda awkward. It's not like I'm friends with any of you outside the play. I feel like I'd be imposing or something.”

“What? Don't be stupid. You just don't know the others that well. That can change at the party.” Seeing the casual opportunity he'd been waiting for, he said, “You can always bring a date, if you want to.” He watched Jensen's expression become pained and felt both horrible at causing it and relieved at what it meant.

“Right, I'll get right on that. I'm sure I'll find someone in all the spare time I'll have this week.”

Jared chuckled and a small smile returned to Jensen's face.

 

During the final week of rehearsal, there wasn't much time to socialize. Rehearsals ran late as the entire cast and crew were pushed to their limits to make sure everything was perfect. On Wednesday afternoon, Jared found Jensen sleeping in the library during their study hall. He was tempted to let him sleep, but he knew how much work Jensen had to do, so he gently rubbed his back to wake him and Jensen whined softly.

“That better be me you're dreaming about,” Jared whispered into his ear.

Jensen slowly opened his eyes. “It was,” he yawned. “Worst nightmare I've had in years.”

“Jerk,” Jared retorted with a soft punch to Jensen's arm. But then Jensen smiled sleepily at him and Jared felt he had been the one punched.

 

 

* * *

 

Before the first performance, Jensen was green with nerves. His hands were shaking as he paced back stage. Suddenly, a tiny hand slipped into his. “Hey, you're going to be great,” Sandy said, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Surprised, Jensen gave her a nervous smile. “I think I'm going to puke.”

She giggled softly. “No, you're not. You're going to kick ass.” She went up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

Together they listened for his cue; then, after another encouraging squeeze to his hand, Jensen went on stage.

Other than a few missed cues by minor characters and Jason and Jensen each slipping during their sword fight, the play went off without a hitch. Jensen would have happily skipped the curtain call if it wasn't for Jason grabbing his arm and dragging him onto the stage.

 

After he changed out of his costume, Jensen grabbed his back pack and headed to the exit when he was stopped by Milo. “Jensen, can you take Alexis and Katie with you? I can't fit anymore in my car and Jason's already got three with him.”

Thoroughly confused, Jensen could only ask, “What?”

Suddenly Jared was next to him, draping his arm around Jensen's shoulders. “Yeah, Milo, don't worry about it. We can take them.”

“Cool. See you there.” Milo waved and jogged to meet the others.

“What are you guys talking about? Did you need a ride home or something?” Jensen asked, barely able to look up at Jared, they were so close.

Jared gave his shoulders a squeeze. “No. We're going to Pizza Hut and the girls need a ride.” His arm fell from Jensen's shoulder so he could pull his phone from his pocket.

“Oh,” Jensen looked around before looking back up at Jared, only he couldn't hold eye contact “Well, I was going to head home. I'm pretty beat.”

“You're beat because you're hungry,” Jared said as he texted the girls, ignoring Jensen's frown. “They're meeting us in the parking lot.”

When they got to the door and Jensen still hadn't said anything, Jared stopped. “Look, I'll drive. You can rest. Heck, you can put your head on my shoulder and sleep on the way there if you want, but don't go home,” he pleaded. Jensen sighed, so Jared made his best puppy dog eyes. “If you don't come with me, I'll just sit there pining for you and I'll bring everybody down and we'll turn into emotional eaters and none of us will fit into our costumes.”

Amused, Jensen shook his head. “You're ridiculous.”

“Am not. That was the god's honest truth. Except for the costume thing. That would just be me. Everything else is truth, scout's honor.”

Jensen smirked and pushed open the door. “Yeah, I really see you 'pining'.”

“I'd be a mother fuckin' evergreen forest,” Jared countered with such sincerity that Jensen nearly doubled over in laughter.

The moment they left the building they were greeted by Chris, Tyler, Tom, and Mike applauding cheering, “Way to go, Jensen!” and “You were awesome!” Felicia and Genevieve were also cheering.

Next, Jensen found himself with his arms full of Felecia and Genevieve. After the hug, Jensen looked at his friends in awe. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We came to see your play, duh,” Felecia said with a playful slap to his arm. “Jared, you were great, too.” Jared smiled his thanks, but allowed Jensen to remain the center of attention.

“Seriously? What's going on? Did my mom buy tickets for all of you?”

“No, you moron, we’re here 'cause we're awesome friends,” Chris replied.

“We totally should have hit up his mom,” Mike joked earning a shove from Tom.

“Now,” Tyler began, trying to sound formal, “we want to take you out to celebrate.”

Jensen smiled. “Really? Cool, thanks. We were just headed to Pizza Hut. You guys should come with us.” He turned to Jared. “That's okay, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jared said, amused at the newly energetic Jensen.

As Katie and Alexis joined them, Jensen asked, “Hey, Mike, do you and Tom have room for Alexis and Katie? They need a ride.”

Both Mike and Tom spun on their heels. “Yes. We definitely have room for these two gorgeous and talented ladies,” Mike charmed and he offered each of them an arm to guide them to his car.

Tom looked at Jensen and mouthed, “Thank you.”

“Why'd you do that? I totally have enough room for them.” Jared slowly began to walk to his car. His nerves had suddenly clawed their way to the surface. Having Jensen all to himself was perfect and exactly what he wanted; but it also terrified him. Jensen was always difficult to read, but even more so lately, and this one-eighty about going out tonight had really thrown him.

Jensen ducked his head in the way that had recently enamored Jared. Then he shrugged. “Tom kinda has a crush on Alexis, so I thought I'd help him out.” A shy smile began to form. “And, this way I get you all to myself.”

Jensen's quiet admission sent Jared’s thoughts spinning. He went from thinking 'Awesome he wants to be alone with me' to 'Oh no, why does he want to be alone with me?' With his mind so occupied, he seemed to lose the ability to walk and talk at the same time. He stumbled and dropped his keys and then collided with Jensen as he tried to pick them up.

Jensen's firm grip on his arm helped Jared to his feet. “You alright?”

Distracted by the hand on him, Jared stared into Jensen’s wide eyes and forgot what to say for a moment. “Hm? Yep, sure.”

 

The group took over the restaurant and pushed tables closer so they could be one giant group. Jared couldn't decide if he wanted to sit next to Jensen or across from Jensen, so the decision was made for him when Chris practically shoved him into the chair on Jensen's left.

The room was filled with chatter and laughter and Jared didn't think anything would wipe the smile off his face. All though the meal, Jensen kept bumping him and including him in conversations and edging closer so that by the end, they couldn't move without touching each other. Jared didn't want the meal to end.

 

When it did, the groups finally separated and Jared found himself flanked by Mike and Chris. “What's going on with you and Jensen?” Chris asked quietly while keeping one eye on the group surrounding Jensen.

“Nothing. What do you mean?” Feeling defensive, Jared forced himself to stay calm. “Wait; is this the 'if you hurt him, we'll hurt you' speech?”

“No, man. Jensen's a big boy, he can take care of himself,” Chris replied with a small chuckle.

Mike put his hand on Jared's shoulder. “All we're saying is that if you _want_ something to be going on with you and Jensen, you should do something about it.”

Chris checked on Jensen before he spoke again. “You're screwing with his brain, Jared. I’ve never seen him this insecure.”

Jared looked from Mike to Chris and back. “What are you talking about?”

“If you're 'just friends' don't flirt with him so much,” Chris said.

“Don't tell him to bring a date to the party, if you want to date him. He doesn't know what you want,” Mike added. “So, be straight with the guy. Or not straight as your case may be, but be honest, all right?”

Jared nodded, wondering what Jensen had told his friends.

 

As he was driving Jensen back to his car, Jared noticed that his friend was even more quiet than usual. However, it felt oddly comfortable to drive along, just listening to the radio.

“Hey, thanks for talking me into doing the play. And for tonight, too.” Jensen said as they pulled up to his car. “It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.”

“Well, you clearly were the best choice for the role.” Jared smiled, knowing that Jensen was rolling his eyes. “I bet you can't wait for everything to return to normal.”

Jensen's smile dimmed. “Not really. I'm going to miss all this.”

“Yeah, you'll really miss the lack of sleep and the zero time to do homework.”

Jensen picked at the rip in the knee of his jeans.   “You're looking forward to Monday, hey? And everything back to the way it was?”

Jared knew there was more to Jensen's question than just asking about sleeping more or homework, but he didn't know how to answer. He put his hand on Jensen's shoulder. “Not _everything_ is going to change. We'll still hang out, right?” He felt a warmth spread through him with the return of a small smile to Jensen's face.

“Maybe, you know, if you bring donuts,” he shrugged, going for nonchalance.

Jared laughed, “So the way to your heart is through bakery. Good to know.”

Jensen blushed. “I didn't say... shut up.”

He opened the car door, but Jared stopped him. “I'll pick you up tomorrow and I'll stop at Duncan's on the way.”

“Sounds good,” Jensen grinned, but then he shook his head. “No wait. It’s okay, I’ll drive myself. I don’t want it to be all awkward later.”

Jared was confused. “Awkward? What’s going to be awkward about me driving?”

Jensen stared back at him as if he didn’t understand how Jared didn’t know what he was talking about. He spoke slowly thinking that would help Jared understand. “Because of the party.”

“You’re going to the party,” Jared ordered.

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you’re going and I’m going, why wouldn’t I drive us both there?”

“What about your date? I’d feel –“

“Date? I don’t have a date,” Jared interrupted stating what he thought was obvious.

“Oh.” Jensen scratched his head. “You told me to bring a date.”

Stunned, it took Jared a second to say anything. “Oh. _You_ have a date. Yeah, I guess it would be awkward for me to drive you.” He tried to look like he thought it was funny, but found himself feeling hurt.

Now Jensen looked confused. “I, I don’t have a date. I asked Felicia, but she’s already going with Chris and Tyler.” His voice trailed off as he spoke.

They exchanged looks and laughed softly. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow,” Jared repeated smiling widely.

Chuckling, Jensen replied, “Sounds good.” Jared noticed that Jensen’s smile stayed on his face as he left the car and walked over to his own.

 

 

* * *

 

The final performance was flawless. Except…

Except when Jared spoke the line: “Tybalt, the reason I have to love thee” he forgot he was looking at Tybalt and saw only Jensen. Was he really falling for Jensen? He blinked the thought from his mind and repeated the line.

Then, when Romeo got in the middle of Tybalt and Mercutio’s sword fight, Jared’s hand slipped inside Jensen’s shirt, and Jensen gasped. It worked within the play as it happened to be when Tybalt realizes he stabbed Mercutio, but it made it difficult for either actor to concentrate.

 

Jared wondered how many people Sandy had invited to this party. She had a huge house and it was great that her parents gave her party the run of the place, but there were too many people. He couldn't find Jensen. For the past hour, he had only caught glimpses of the guy as he moved from room to room.

He saw Jensen huddled with Mike and Tyler. They wore uncharacteristically serious expressions which made Jared wonder what they could be talking about. Then, as if he felt Jared watching, Jensen looked up at him and smiled. Jared felt like there was a connection between them and he smiled even wider.

Later, as he listened to Chad tell a story about Kenzie, Jared watched in agony as Colton Haynes flirted with Jensen. He couldn't concentrate on what Chad was saying because all he could hear was the voice in his head repeating “No!”

He turned away, knowing that he really didn't have any right to be so jealous. If Jensen wanted Colton, Jared would have to be okay with it.

Chad studied his friend and asked, “Where’s your date?”

“Date? I don’t have a date,” Jared replied innocently.

“You’re the lead in the most romantic play like ever and you don’t have a date?” Chad smirked.  “I thought you brought Jensen.”

“Yeah, I did, but –“

“Let me clarify,” Chad said loudly over Jared’s answer. “I thought you finally manned up and told Jensen you wanted to go out with him.”

Jared looked discouraged. “It’s not that easy.”

“Yeah it is. You’re smart and adorable,” Chad teased, reaching up to ruffle Jared’s hair. “You’ll figure out how to tell him.”

 

Jealousy sparked inside Jared as he scanned the room. Jensen didn’t really disappear with Colton, did he?

“Hey.”  Jared turned and found Jensen smiling up at him and felt his own grin split his face, dispelling nearly all of his worry.

“Hey, yourself. Where have you been?”

Jensen's eyes widened comically. “I know, right? This place is huge. It took me two years to make my way back here.”

“You made it, though, that's what's important.” Jared felt a rush of heat as Jensen’s eyes kept focusing on his mouth.

Jensen nodded. “Lost some good men on the way.”

Jared laughed. “Well, harsh conditions'll do that.”

“Yeah, especially if those conditions are cute girls that giggle at everything.”

Jared laughed harder which made Jensen grin. “Who'd you lose?”

Jensen pointed across the room to where Tom was allowing Alexis to nearly pin him to the wall.

“Doesn't look like he put up much of a fight,” Jared said turning to look at Jensen and finding him smiling back fondly. Jared felt like he was being pulled closer by the way Jensen dragged his teeth over his lower lip.

“I saw you talking to Colton earlier and got a little jealous. I --”

“He was looking for you,” Jensen interrupted him quietly. He cleared his throat and looked away. “I lied and told him I didn't know where you were. You can go find him if you want.”

“I wasn't,” Jared stammered. He put his hand on Jensen’s shoulder making him face him. “You don’t understand. I was jealous he was talking to _you._ When I couldn't find you, I thought maybe you went off with him. And I was jealous because I don’t want you to be with him.” Jensen looked up at him, staring in disbelief. Jared felt an embarrassing blush warming his cheeks, but he couldn’t look away.

The spell was broken when Jensen brushed a hand on Jared’s chest and said, “I want to show you something. Follow me, okay?”

 

Jensen grabbed Jared's wrist and began to lead him through the party, then through Sandy's house until they reached the lower level. It was dark and they were nearly at the door that led outside when Jared noticed Jensen's coat and stopped walking. “Hey, what's going on? Are you leaving?”

Jensen turned to him. “Yeah. Uh, no, just, here, put this on,” he babbled and handed Jared his jacket.

Jared slipped his arms into the sleeves and again asked, “What's going on?”

Jensen smiled and opened the door leading to Sandy's patio. Snow was falling, and there was a light dusting already on the ground. The pergola overhead and the bushes that surrounded the patio were lit with tiny blue and white lights. As they shined through the snow, they gave a soft, unreal glow to the patio.

Jared looked around in amazement. “Wow,” he whispered as if his normal voice would disturb the beauty of his surroundings.

“Right?” Jensen whispered as he joined him in admiring the quiet patio. “I saw it from up there,” he pointed to a window, “and had to show it to you,” he said smiling as a blush colored his cheeks.

They looked around again, appreciating the calm silence of the snow falling around them. Jared's breath hitched as he watched Jensen blink away some flakes caught on his lashes. He had to look away before Jensen discovered him staring.

Jared tipped his head back to catch snowflakes on his tongue and Jensen laughed, “How are you even real?”

Jared grinned and faced Jensen ready to make a witty comeback when he was struck dumb by Jensen's smile. It was the same one that had made him so insanely jealous when he saw it in that photo, only this time it was directed at him. Jared felt weak under its power.

Then Jensen ducked his head in that shy way of his that made Jared melt inside. Before Jared regained the power of speech, Jensen said, “A month ago, I never would have believed I would be standing here like this, with you.”

“I know,” Jared replied watching as Jensen eyes went soft and traveled from his eyes to focusing on his lips as he spoke

“No, you don't,” Jensen said. He paused for a second and nervously ran his tongue over his lip. As Jared stared at him, wondering what he meant, Jensen moved closer. He placed a hand over Jared's heart and stretched the tiny bit needed to capture Jared's lips in a soft kiss. He gently sucked on Jared's bottom lip. He brought his hand up to cup Jared's cheek and the other one clutched the front of Jared’s jacket. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled as he pulled back.

Jared's heart raced and he felt like the ground gave way under him and he was sure there had never been a more perfect moment in his life.

Jensen touched his lip, suddenly looking vulnerable. “I'm sorry, but the thing is, up until last month you were just this unattainable crush. Getting to know you, the _real_ you, finding out you actually _are_ this completely amazing person? My crush is so much worse now,” he said quietly, shaking his head at his admission.

He stopped and looked around at the snow falling peacefully. “But, there's this voice in my head telling me I'm an idiot for falling for you, and part of me keeps waiting for the punch line; like all this is just a bad remake of _Carrie_.” He smiled sadly and sighed. “This is so un-fucking-fair. I hate it.”

Jared struggled to catch up with what Jensen was saying. “What – what's unfair? What are you talking about?”

“You. You read my journal. You know how I feel. I’ve got no clue what’s going through your mind. You go from making me miserable to, I don’t know, making me more miserable. I don’t know what you want.” Jensen’s frustration was etched on his face.

“Jensen, you think you’re the only one that –.  At the very least I want to be friends. But I've been wanting to be so much more.” Jared took a tentative step towards him and held Jensen's hand in his, gently rubbing over the back of it with his thumb. “I like you, Jensen, like _really_ like you.”

“You do?”

“God yes. And I really want to kiss you again.” Jared combed his fingers through Jensen's hair and then cradled Jensen's head in his hand. His thumb brushed Jensen's cheek as he brought their mouths together for another kiss.

Jensen sighed into the kissed and slipped his arms inside Jared’s jacket and wrapped his arms around him. Slowly they opened up for each other, testing and learning what the other liked.

“I've wanted to do that for so long,” Jared confessed in a whisper when he broke the kiss to look in Jensen’s eyes.

“Me, too,” Jensen said, placing another small kiss on Jared's lips.

“Yeah?” Jared smiled, not caring about the stupid lovesick grin he wore. “Oh god, if this is just a dream, and I'm really in Singer's class right now, I'm going to kill someone.”

Jensen chuckled and kissed Jared’s dimpled cheek. “I'm not kidding,” Jared argued. “There's the little lights and you and you're kissing me.” He placed another soft kiss on Jensen’s lips. “It's pretty much like my dream.”

“Weren’t we naked in that dream?” Jensen teased.

“Maybe.”  Jared blushed, but he couldn’t care because Jensen was smiling at him and his hands were smoothing down Jared’s back and were resting at his hips. Jared toyed with the hair at Jensen’s collar. “This sort of feels like a dream.”

“Then, just in case, we should totally make out some more before you wake up.”

“Good call,” Jared replied, moving in and kissing Jensen again. His mouth tentatively opened when Jensen’s tongue touched his lips.

After several minutes of kissing the perfection of Jensen's lips, a lightheaded Jared took a breath. “Oh god,” he panted, “we have to stop.”

“No we don't,” Jensen murmured as he kissed Jared’s jaw and neck. He slid one hand to the center of Jared’s back to press their bodies together.

Jared felt it was too much and too good and he wanted more and he wanted it now and he felt so warm and why was he cold?  Coming to his senses, Jared gently broke their embrace. If he wanted more, it wasn’t going to be in the snow. “Let’s go back inside,” he suggested quietly with another gentle kiss.

Jensen looked about to say something but stopped and smirked. Then he held his hand out for Jared to lead the way.

 

They took off their coats and tapped the snow off their shoes. Jensen shook his head briskly and sent snow flying. Jared yelped as he was pelted with icy droplets from Jensen’s hair. He then did the same, showering everything around them and making Jensen laugh.

Jared hooked a finger in the back pocket of Jensen’s jeans as he followed him back to the party.  It was still crowded and Jared wanted nothing more than to be alone with Jensen. He was about to suggest they leave when they ran into Kenzie and Chad.

Kenzie looked from Jared to Jensen and back. “Why are you guys all wet?”

“It’s snowing,” Jensen replied simply.

Kenzie looked around for a window. “It is?”

Chad hadn’t stopped studying them.  His eyes squinted more than they usually did and he asked, “Did you two hook up?”

“What? No, of course not,” Jared replied. He felt the near imperceptible change in Jensen and hoped he was doing the right thing.  “First of all, Jensen and I are Shakespearean actors. We are way too fuckin’ classy to ‘hook up’ as you say. Furthermore, a hook-up implies a one-time occurrence.” He draped his arm around Jensen’s shoulders. “This is just the beginning of many repeat performances.”

Jared looked hopefully at Jensen to confirm his feelings on the matter, and found him smirking and shaking his head. “I don’t know, man. The reviews aren’t in yet. Better hope you get a call back.”  

Chad laughed at the astonished look on Jared’s face.

Jared’s moment of doubt was washed away as Jensen struggled to keep a straight face. Jared schooled his features, his eyes darkened and he leaned closer to Jensen. While staring at Jensen’s full lips, he spoke softly. “Maybe we need to spend some time on the casting couch so my talents can convince you to give me that call back.”

Jensen swallowed. His smirk faded under the heat of Jared’s suggestion. “Yes, we should absolutely.” He turned to Chad and Kenzie as he dragged Jared away.  “Talk to you later.”

“Ackles, you gotta make him work harder than that!” Chad called after them.

 

They had made their way through the party and were slipping their coats back on, when Jensen said, “We should say ‘good-bye’ to Sandy.”

Jared sighed, He wanted to drag Jensen out of there; the sooner they were alone the better, but he nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go find her.”

Returning to the main room, Jensen was stopped by Tyler. “Jensen, can I talk to you?”

Jensen looked at Jared who said, “I’ll go find Sandy. Be right back.”

 

Jared found Sandy talking with Milo and Felicia. “Hey Sandy, Jensen and I are taking off. Thanks for throwing the party. I can stop by tomorrow and help you clean up.”

“Thanks for coming. And don’t worry about the clean up, my mom loves this kind of thing,” Sandy replied.

“Jensen was pretty good, hey? I mean, he did a good job as Tybalt,” Milo said. “I’m glad he changed his mind and did it.”

Sandy nodded. “Yeah, I feel bad about not wanting him to do it at first. I hope he does another one.”

“I’m sure Jared could talk him into doing another play,” Felicia added with a teasing tug on Jared’s arm. “Jared could talk him into anything.”

Milo’s eyes were like saucers. “You and Jensen? Are you guys a thing now?”

“Well, not like officially or anything, but,” he smirked and let that be his answer.

Felicia squealed and wrapped him in a hug.

 

A moment later, Jensen and Tyler were next to them.  “Hey, Sandy, great party, thanks for inviting me,” Jensen said with a smile for the hostess.

“Thanks for coming! You were great as Tybalt, Jensen. We were just talking about whether you’re going to do another one,” Sandy replied smiling brightly.

Stunned, Jensen blurted out, “God, no!” making Milo and Sandy laugh, but Jared looked taken aback.

Felicia punched his arm. “You were really good. Seriously, you should do another play.”

Jensen’s cheeks reddened a bit and he said, “You’re already being paid enough to be my friend, don’t go looking for a raise.”

“Hey!” she reprimanded him with another swat to his arm, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug.

“Tyler really likes you,” he whispered into her ear. “He wants to ask you out.”

“Jared really likes you. You should ask him out,” she whispered back.

He kissed her cheek as he let go. Then, he faced Jared and with a tilt of his head asked, “Are we leaving?”

“Yeah, later guys,” Jared answered, nodding ‘good-bye’ to his friends.

 

Pulling up in front of Jensen’s house, a wave of nerves crashed over Jared. He desperately wanted to kiss Jensen but he needed to make sure Jensen knew he wanted more than a simple ‘hook up’ as Chad called it. He shut off his car, but before he could open his door Jensen asked, “Jared, it’s not that I don’t want you to come in now, but it’s too late. My parents would kill me.”

“I know. I’m just going to walk you to your door to kiss you ‘good night’.”

“What? Like this is a date?”

“This _is_ a date. Maybe it wasn’t when I picked you up, but it is now.”  The happy look on Jensen’s face let Jared know he had said the right thing.

He crawled out of his car and met Jensen on the sidewalk.

Jensen led him to the screened porch. “You can come in here. At least it’s warmer than outside.”

But Jared stopped and tugged Jensen’s hand making him turn around. When he did, Jared leaned in and placed a small, very chaste kiss on his lips. “If I go in there and you kiss me like you did at Sandy’s, I’m not going to want to stop.” Jensen opened his mouth to protest, but Jared swooped in for another kiss before he could utter a word.

He stepped back and grinned. “You won’t think I’m too desperate if I call you tomorrow, will you?”

Jensen shook his head and laughed softly, “No.”

Jared took another step back. “Would it be desperate if I text you when I get home?”

Jensen’s smile widened. “No.”

“Cool.”  Jared grinned and walked back to his car.

“Don’t text and drive!” Jensen called after him.

“I won’t.”

 

_Jp: You asleep_

_Ja: Yes_

_Jp: Ha ha. should I leave you alone?_

_Ja: No_

Jared smiled. _Thanx for being my date._

_Ja: For the 5 sec from your car to my door? No prob_

_Jp: It was the second best part of the night :)_

_Ja: 2 nd?_

_Jp: Sandy’s patio was the best._

He had to wait for a reply. After what Jared was sure was an hour but was actually only a minute his phone blinked with another text. _Can’t do this now. Call me_

Can’t do what now? Jared wondered. Date? Text? Was he supposed to call right then or tomorrow like he promised?

_Ja: Jared? Is it 2 late 2 call? Will it wake your folks?_

Instead of texting a reply, Jared called and smiled when he heard Jensen’s whispered voice. “Hey, thanks, took my contacts out and can’t see to text.”

“And you just couldn’t go to sleep without hearing my voice?” Jared teased in reply.

“That, and sleeping in my contacts is a bad idea, so I'd have to wear my glasses to text. I hate wearing my glasses.”  Jensen didn’t speak for a minute and Jared could hear him moving around. “So I know you said you would call me tomorrow, but I don’t think I could wait that long.” Jensen’s voice sounded nervous. “Do you want to, I mean, can you,” Jensen stuttered before sighing loudly. “Would you go out with me Friday? Like on a date?”

Jared nearly dropped his phone. “Really? Um, yeah, of course.” He heard Jensen sigh in relief. “What do you want to do?”

Jared could practically hear the smile in Jensen’s voice as he replied. “Whatever you want, my treat.”

“Then I’ll be sure to pick the most expensive thing I can think of,” Jared said with a laugh.

“That’s fine, as long as it’s something you really like.”

“I was kidding. You’re too easy.”

“Hey, you can’t say that until after the date.”

Jared guffawed and then slapped a hand over his mouth, knowing he was much too loud.

Over the phone he could hear Jensen’s quiet laugh.  “I’m going to go before you get in trouble or change your mind. Good night, Jared.”

“Night, Jensen.”  Jared lay back in his bed when his phone buzzed with a text.

_Thanx for giving me a chance_

 

Foolsdance art can be found [here](http://i.imgur.com/9D2te3a.jpg)

**Author's Note:**

> This story started as a Christmas fic inspired by Foolsdance's gorgeous art. After several attempts, that fic died a painful death and this one emerged. Even though it's not what she suggested, I hope she enjoys where it took me.
> 
> Jensen did not actually write any songs included in this.  
> Also, I've written a second part to this that includes the date and other activities.
> 
> Disclaimer: I only cast these beautiful people in a work of fiction. No harm is meant and no money is made.


End file.
